A True Pearl
by fandomLife
Summary: Set a year before the 65th Hunger Games, right before Finnick went in. The story is in Annie's POV. Sorry I've been gone fore so long, but I'm coming back! FEEDBACK IS WANTED
1. Chapter 1

**A True Pearl**

Rating: T

Summary-Set a year before the 65th Hunger Games, right before Finnick went in. The story is in Annie's POV. It is how I believe how her life and she was before she went 'crazy'. Critic taking but no flames please.

**Author's Note- This is my first story on FF. I have been on here reading stories for a while but I have always been a little hesitant to when it came to putting my own works on here.** **One of my good friends (grimace) finally made me put this up and also she gave me the idea for this story, If you are reading this I love You Girl (searches frantically around) Anyway I'm sorry I'm rambling, I'm a wee bit nervous =). I will take advice, lovingly will take it actually****. **

Disclaimer-I do not own the Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does and if I did I would be rick and not live in George County.

"**I do."** I was staring at a familiar bush of gorgeous bronzed colored hair and sea green eyes. I looked around the room and nothing seemed familiar. I saw a girl with olive colored skin looking at me and instantly felt like I should know her. I looked and the familiar man and I was trying to figure out who he was.

"Annie Cresta." The priest said, trying to get my attention.

"Annie….. Annie" the familiar man murmured.

I looked at the priest and his faced morphed into the face of my history teacher.

* * *

><p>"Annie Cresta are you here" my history teacher yelled at me.<p>

"Yes sir."

My name is Annie Cresta. I am thirteen years old and I live in district four. I am the type of person that likes to stay in the crowd and out of trouble. I hate attention.

The bell rang for lunch and everybody jumped up to leave, except for me. There was just something about that dream. It just seemed too real. All these questions were going through my head. Where was I? Who was that girl? And most importantly, who was that man? I slowly left the room and while I was waiting for my friends I saw _him_.

**Finnick odair.**

The one with all the looks. The one with all the moves. Also, the one every girl wanted to be with. I loathed him. He was an obnoxious prick.

_ But your in love with him. _

'Shut Up!' I told myself.

_ But look at those muscles and those beautiful bronze locks. Don't you just want to run your fingers through them? And his sea green eyes, just like the ocean on the clearest of days. _

'Shut Up!' The voice didn't return. I admit I have played around with the idea of me and Finnick together, but I always stop myself. It would never work we live on different sides of the universe. I'm too simple and plus I tend to stay away from attention. That…

"Hey Annie" Harper interrupted my thinking.

"Hey guys. I looked at my friends that were giving me a worried look. "What's wrong?"

"You keep spacing out" said Delaney.

"Yeah, they're becoming worse" piped in Mya.

We started on our way toward the cafeteria. Abruptly I told them I needed water. They started to follow me, but I told them to go on.

" You sure" said Delaney

"Yeah, I'm sure." I started to walk and I ran into something hard, then I fell back and hit my head hard.

* * *

><p>"Hey lady you okay?" someone said.<p>

I shook my head trying to see straight. When my vision came into focus I saw who I ran into. It was Finnick. Yaa….

"Yeah, I'm fine." Letting him know he could leave me alone. I really didn't have time for this.

"Well I'm sorry about that, I should have been watching." It seems he couldn't take a hint.

"No, it's mine I wasn't paying attention." I told him.

"Still…this wasn't like me," He rattled on." I'm Finnick. Finnick Odair." He said with that cocky smile.

"Annie Cresta" I said with a weak smile.

"Have I seen you before?"

I thought about the younger days when all the kids hung out. We were like best friends and hung out almost every day. Then, his mom died and he had to help around the house more. He would miss school to go on fishing trips with his dad, hence why he is always tan. Finnick started to change and he became part of the in crowd. He completely forgot about me.

"No," I told him." We have never met before."

He gave me a skeptical look, but he nodded and didn't press on about the subject._ Thank you_ I mentally said to myself.

"Well it was nice meeting you." I hastily replied.

"But..." He tried to continue this conversation.

"Sorry, but my friends are waiting for me." I quickly told him. I turned on my heel and ran away like person I am.

* * *

><p>When I got to the cafeteria I saw they had a lot of questions, but the look on my face told them to keep them to themselves.<p>

Not a minute later I saw Finnick come in. He was scanning the crowd for me but I hid. I didn't want or need him in my life. When he couldn't find me he went to his friends and went on with his life.

When I walked into math class I noticed we had a sub. I sat down in my seat and right away I slipped away into my dreams.

* * *

><p><strong>*Flashback*<strong>

"Hey Annie, hey Annie." A cute little boy says.

"Yes, Finny." I smile sweetly, knowing how much he hates me calling him that.

"Hey that isn't cool." He squeaked.

"Get over it," I stuck my tongue out. "What do you want Finny."

"Come down here and play with me. Mom said she has lunch ready for us when we want to eat."

"Fine, fine, fine." I grumbled. I ran down the sand hill and plowed right into him.

"Ow, watch it you klutz." He laughed.

For the rest of the day we ran down the beach and just played to our hearts content. His dad finally came to get us to eat dinner. He told me that he called my mom and asked if I could stay over since it was so late. Soon, it was time to go to bed.

"Night Finnick." I told him.

"Night Annie," He whispered. "Hey Annie?"

"Yeah Finnick?" I whispered back.

"You're my greatest friends and I don't ever want you to forget it."

"Same here Finny, same her." And I slipped off into a deep sleep.

***Flashback ends***

* * *

><p>"Ms. Annie Cresta." The sub shook me.<p>

"Yes mam?" I said waking up.

"School is over you can go home now."

"Okay, thank you." I told her.

I walked out of the room and there was Delaney, Harper, and Mya waiting on me.

"Sorry." I mumbled

"Annie, you really have to stop zoning out on us like that." Said Mya.

"I don't mean to, I'm sorry with all that's going on and everything else..." I replied.

"Whatever, let's go home." Said Delaney.

* * *

><p>Once they dropped me off I went straight to the beach to think about everything that has been going on. The sun was just setting over the ocean; it reminded me of <em>his<em> eyes. Everything was perfect; I could hear nothing but the sound of the crashing waves. Perfect.

"Gorgeous." A gruff voice said.

I turned around swiftly and saw _him. _Damn. Can't he just leave me alone?

I turned back towards the ocean and stayed quiet. Hoping he would get the hint that I didn't want to talk and he would go away. It didn't help any. He sat down right beside me.

"You going to talk to me?"He asked

You can guess what I did. C'mon take a guess.

"Why can't you just say something? Am I a disease to you?" He yelled at me.

I jumped at that sound and looked at him a little scared; I have never seen this side of him.

"I'm sorry I just want to talk to you." He said softly.

"Why do you care so much?" I asked him sharply.

"You're different than the others." He said shrugging his shoulders.

"Huh," I shot at him hotly." What's that suppose to mean? Just because I don't bow down at your feet and kiss your feet like all those other sluts."

"That isn't what I meant." He said trying to calm me down. "I actually hate all that attention."

"Doesn't seem like it to me." I grumbled.

"Ooh...So you do watch me." He smiled a cocky grin.

"But...oh…no…you see." I stuttered.

"But you see you don't understand me. You have no idea who I am and all that I have to go through every single day. So don't you go around judging me." He started to get up and leave.

"Whatever you say Finny." I said distractly.

"What did you just call me?" he said.

I stiffened. How could I have let _that_ name slip. I stood up and replied "Nothing". I turned around and left leaving a very confused Finnick behind.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note- So how was it. Please review and tell me. Everyone who reviews gets a cookie made and iced by Peeta. XD Just press that amazingly annoying button at the bottom. <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**A True Pearl**

Rating: T

Summary-Set a year before the 65th Hunger Games, right before Finnick went in. The story is in Annie's POV. It is how I believe how her life and she was before she went 'crazy'. Taking constructive criticism but please no flames.

**Author's Note- In the last chapter I said Annie was 13 well I changed that because I was thinking about it during class and I realized that since she went in 5 years later after him she was younger than that age. I am going to change her to 12, a year younger than Finnick. Because I looked nothing says her age or what age she went into the Hunger Games. I know it's stupid to realize this now but I have been having a lot going on lately so please don't judge me.**

Disclaimer-I do not own the Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does and if I did I would be rich and not live in George County.

**Thank You to Marie for beta-ing.(sorry forgot to put this up.)**

**Thank you to everyone who favored/alerted me and my story. To the people who reviewed thank you even more, you guys really do not know how happy they made me. **

**PeetaMyLove- Thank you for reviewing and you can get as many batches as you want =) **

**Cookieb123- Thank you for reviewing.**

**All I need 22- Thank you for reviewing. I will write more chapters but I'm about to get very busy.**

**Marie- Marie...Marie yes you did force me to put it up and I forced you to review back haha. Made you get off your lazy butt =P**

**Y'all all get Peeta made cookie and a special smoothie made by me, they're amazing XD**

Chapter 2

The next few weeks I avoided Finnick. I didn't want to be questioned anymore. I had enough going on at home. For more that it seemed that winter kept getting closer my mother only got sicker and sicker. We wouldn't say it but we knew she was close, close to….

"Annie." Delaney was poking at me trying to get my attention.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about Mom." I told the girls. "How much longer till the bell?" I quickly asked before they started with their sympathy.

"About 15 more minutes I think." Harper told me.

"Well I got to go talk to Mr. Pater about my report." They nodded and went on with their conversation.

While I was turning a corner I ran into someone. Guess who?

"Dang it, I'm sorry." Finnick said. Then he looked at who he ran over. "Annie." He said breathlessly.

"Hey Finnick, bye Finnick," I shortly told him.

"Wait, please talk to me, it's important. I have been trying to hunt you down and talk to you since that day, but you keep running away. Why?" He looked distressed.

"Well I've been really busy, like I am now." I tried to turn around, but he grabbed my arm.

"Please meet me on the beach after school." He pleaded.

I thought about it for a moment. Spending time with Finnick couldn't be that bad. Could it? "Okay, I'll give it a try." I promised him and he grinned from ear to ear.

"Great!" He said and turned around and started for the cafeteria.

'_Oh great. What I have I got myself into?'_

* * *

><p>While on my walk home I paced myself. I didn't feel the need to hurry and I didn't know if I was quite ready to face him. Once I got to the beach he was already there waiting for me. I walked down the hill and quietly sat down by him. We just sat quietly for awhile and listened to the waves crashing and watched the sunset. Finnick finally broke the comfortable silence. "How have you been?"<p>

"What did you want to talk to me about that was just so important?"

"Right to the subject then?" He chuckled.

"Well if there isn't anything to talk about then..." I let on while standing up to leave.

"No...Wait!" He stopped me."I had some questions for you." He looked at me desperately.

My heartbeat stopped." Like what kind of questions exactly?" I croaked.

"I…" He stopped in mid-sentence. We heard some shrill voices headed our way.

"Finnick! Finnick!" Some girls were screeching. My eyeballs went wide all of a sudden.

Finnick was frantically searching around the beach till he spotted something. "C'mon." He said gruffly then ran towards a hidden cave a little off in the distance. We ran as fast and swift as we could. Once we got there we were out of breath.

"Why did you want to run?" I asked him.

"Well for starters I know you are not the type of person that likes attention." I smirked a little. "Two I rather not hang around those sluts right now." Okay, so he is aware the type of people that he hangs around.

He took a peek outside to make sure they didn't follow us. "Now, can you please answer my questions?" He said while turning back around.

"It depends." I countered.

"How did you know _that_ nickname?" He asked me sternly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I crossed my arms.

"Yes, you do and I want to know how and where you heard it from." He sounded stern yet so vulnerable.

I sighed. He knew he was going to get the answer so he sat down on a rock in a corner. "Years ago we use to be best friends. It was a long time ago and things were so different back then. I mean your mom…"

He stopped me there. "Please don't continue that last part." He took a long pause. "It can't be though I would remember someone like you. Why can't I remember?" He looked like he was in pain.

"Look, Finnick, all I know is that when your mom..." He tensed at that. "Umm sorry...But anyway after that a lot just changed. A lot of people went their own way and everyone had a lot of problems going on. That is all I know."

He didn't say anything for awhile and I didn't make him. The silence wasn't harming anybody. We just sat there listening to the _'drip drop drip'_ from the water leaking from the cave ceiling.

"There was so much going on back then during that time that I barely remember much. I tried to block out as much as I could to ease the pain, I'm sorry" He voice was barely above a whisper.

"It wasn't your entire fault, you were just a kid. Why would you blame all that on you?" I asked, not really helping the situation.

"I don't know, but I just feel like I should take the blame. Who else?"

"It doesn't matter, it's in the past. Over and done with. Do you understand? We can start anew." I told him.

"So we could start hanging out again? I would really enjoy it and also…" He started rambling.

"Stop right there!" He looked hurt. "I am not going to be a part of 'that' crowd. I don't want to be labeled one of your little whores!" I yelled.

The look on his face made me instantly want to backtrack. "Finnick, look, we can be friends, but I would prefer for it to be more like this, secluded." I requested from him.

He swallowed hard, but he nodded in reply. "Okay, that's fine with me."

"I really am sorry for blurting out like that."

"Well it's what people think about me and I know it. I can't really fix that. It's a reputation here to stay."

"You can always change their mind. It is always fun to prove people wrong." I told him.

"Maybe, and by the way, I have never touched any of those girls like that. My mom taught me courtesy and I'm not going to do her wrong." What he said shocked me but I didn't doubt what he said one bit.

"Oh, Finnick, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been listening to people's gossip." I truly felt guilty.

"Please, I don't want sympathy." Then I saw that he had his cocky smirk plastered on his face. "You listen to gossip about me. See, I knew you cared." He then grabbed my head and rubbed it and messed up my hair.

That got a laugh out of me. "Goodnight, Finnick. I'll see you another day." I started to leave, but he stopped me.

"Can we do this again tomorrow? I really enjoyed your company." He says with a smile.

"Of course, I enjoyed it to." "_More than I thought I would._ " I say under my breath_. _

He smiles and takes my hand and kisses the palm. "Till tomorrow Annie."

* * *

><p>"Annie." It was the girl with the olive skin.<p>

"Huh?" I said the scene coming into focus. It was the same as before. The only difference I wasn't at the altar. I was still in the white frilly wedding dress. I didn't complain it was a gorgeous dress. The color was a soft white and the beads seemed liked they were put there so ever delicately. I brought my hand down and I brushed the beads with my fingertips, they seemed ever so fragile just like a…

"Annie." The girl said more insistently.

"Yes." I said, putting my attention on here interested on what seemed so important.

"He's waiting for you. Why are you just standing here?" She asked me quite rudely. Not knowing who she is talking about I decided to play along.

"Who is waiting for me?" I asked curiously. This seemed liked a lot of fun.

"Your husband, duh! Both of you guys have been waiting for this for years and you are acting like you have never met this guy before. What is wrong with you?" She hounded me. Maybe this was a bad idea.

"Katniss." Another woman came by with close-cropped hair. "Leave her the hell alone, you of all people should understand, with what is going on with you know who." That seemed to have struck a nerve with her.

"But he's…" The girl, Katniss, tried to reproach.

"Doesn't matter don't start anything with her, you know how he will get and I don't want to deal with him acting like a pansy." Did I suddenly become invisible to them? "Look he is coming over here now. Let's go I said my good wishes to him and now I would really like to get the hell away from all this sappy love stuff."

Katniss agreed and they walked away to someplace I couldn't see them. A few seconds later the familiar man came by.

"Were they bothering you?" He gave me a cheeky grin.

"Umm…no not really." I gave a weak answer not really knowing what was going on.

"Okay, well I came to get you. It's time for our dance." He told me.

"What dance?" I asked getting self-conscious knowing how bad I am.

"The bride and groom's first dance together." He held out his hand for mine. I took it and looked up at his eyes. I gave a sharp gasp.

They announced our names and everyone cheered. But, it was too late I have already found out who my groom was.

**Finnick Odair. **

**Author's Note- Please review I turned the thing off so anonymous people can review now. I would really like to hear from all of y'all.**

_**This is important**_**. I do not know the next time I can update. My schedule is fixing to get even busier. I have parade, ACT, finish Christmas shopping, finals, and pack for Wisconsin. We will be there for about 2 weeks (how long our Christmas break is). My mom lets no electronics pretty much, but my dad might let me sneak in something. So like I said I may get something in before but I do not. This all starts next week. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A True Pearl**

**Thank You to Marie for beta-ing.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favored/alerted me and my story. I wish everybody would review; they make me want to type faster. The people who do review thank you so much =)**

**All I need 22-Thank you and I'll update when I can, like I am now.**

**PeetaMyLove- haha but yeah it's something that we do once a year and we are suppose to leave in a few days. Thanks for reviewing. **

**Cookieb123- Thanks, =) and thank you for reviewing**

**Me- thank you for reviewing. **

Chapter 3

I awoke with a jump. I looked down and saw that I was covered in sweat. That dream it just couldn't be real. Could it? No, Annie no. You are supposed to hate the guy, remember?

'_That's not what your heart says.'_

'_Oh, hush you. Who were those people anyways?'_

'_All in good time'_

'_You couldn't have been more vague.'_

When I got downstairs, I saw my mom asleep in hospital bed. I twinge of pain hit me. It was almost the end of the year and my mom was just lying around waiting for her time. Nothing is ever fair. I looked over to the counter and saw breakfast waiting on me. That's my dad. He has a hard time paying the bills with only one parent working, so he will work double shifts. I barely ever get to see him because of this, so he will leave me small things here and there to let me know he is still and caring for me. I quickly ate breakfast and headed out. I met up with the girls to walk to school. I mostly stayed quiet, listening to them talking about all the newest gossip. There were things about Finnick here and there. I tried to tune those parts out since I knew they weren't true, and I knew if I said something they would hound me till they got the answers out of me. Then the whole school would hear about it; those girls weren't known for keeping their mouths closed.

School was its normal boring self. Sometimes Finnick and I ran into each other in the hall and talk, but not for long. Ever afternoon we met in the cave like we promised each other. It wasn't anything special, a damp and cold cave, but it was nice to us. We almost got caught talking in the halls one times by one of his many, many stalkers. We would catch each other's eyes in the cafeteria and he would give me a wink, and it made me giggle. Delaney, Harper, and Mya would give me 'crazy' looks while some of the other girls caught it would give me a death glare.

This dragged on for a few weeks. It seemed that Finnick's life kept getting busier. He hardly ever showed up anymore and he missed a lot of school. I would guess that he was on a fishing trip, but there was one problem: it was the middle of the winter. So where was he?

One morning I was walking down the stairs and I saw Dad taking care of Mom. He seemed to be home more these days, since business was extremely slow because of the cold. I walked over to the counter to make myself breakfast, and as I look up I saw the look in my dad's eyes and got a little guarded. He looked like he was dying on the inside.

"Annie, I'm going to need you to stay home today."

"Why? It's almost time for finals and I have to…" I stopped myself before he could find out that Finnick and I were talking again.

"You have to what? Never mind, it doesn't matter. You need to stay home. Your mom is getting worse and I need help around the house. You can make the work up later," he said with finality.

"Yes, Father," I said while talking the list of chores he gave me to do.

The same thing happened for the next few days. Either cleaning the house, cooking for the family, or tending to my mom for when my dad had to run errands. I wasn't allowed to leave the house, unless I had to take out the garbage.

The next day I was finally able to go back to school. I had a massive pile up of work to catch up on and when the girls saw me they got excited and hounded me with questions. When I told them where I was they immediately shut up. Finnick was still a no-show. I was really getting worried at this point. He has never missed this much at one time before.

We only had a day left till our winter break. This is the best time of the year, because we are a wealthy district along with One and Two. They will usually send us a little money to help us during this time and in return, we help them make the games more 'interesting'. I hate it, but this pact was made before I was born. Some people said it's because of an old American tradition but nobody really goes much further into that knowing so little about that civilization. Nobody knows much about it, because to the Capitol, knowledge about the past is dangerous.

* * *

><p>I got up the next morning a little bit too lazily. It was below freezing outside and it was just so warm inside my bed, I didn't want to leave. I slowly walked down the stairs to see if my dad needed my help. He didn't which shocked me a little. So, since I wasn't needed I left the house to go walk around the town.<p>

All the doors and shutters were closed in hopes of keeping the cold out. I walked down to the dock to see if there was any activity. As I got there I saw exactly what I expected: nothing.

I sat down on the pier to take a breather. The scenery was amazing. The water was calm and not moving, nothing unusual about that, No, it was something in the atmosphere. It felt more…welcoming. I looked around to see what was different and suddenly I saw it. Finnick's boat was docked right where it should be. I stared at it for a few minutes before the revelation hit me.

**Finnick was home. **

I ran to the boat. Nobody was there, but I could tell it wasn't that long ago till he left. I ran to the beach in hopes that he would be at the cave.

When I got there I looked towards the cave and I saw a light flickering. I felt something growing inside of me. I got excited and I flew towards the cave. When I got there what I saw shocked me.

Finnick wasn't there. The light was just a candle that was about to burn out. Someone was here. I looked to see what the light was shining at and there was writing on the wall. I read it before the light went out.

'_Annie,_

_I tried to see you today, but it's late and I must go home to my father. Please me here tomorrow at 3:30. I got some things to tell and show you. In hopes to see you soon,_

_Finny'_

So he was here and I missed him. Dammit! I hope he is going to explain where he has been this whole time. But what would he need to show me? I blew out the candle and left the cave heading home hoping tomorrow would come rapidly.

When I got up the next day I saw if my dad needed help with the chores. He only had a small list for me to do. _'Thank God.' _ When I got done he asked if I could help for dinner, I obediently obliged. It was a little after 2 when we were done. I told my dad that me and Delaney were meeting up and I needed to go get ready. He let me go, saying I helped him enough today.

When I left the house it was a little after 3. I started to run to the cave. As I got to the beach I skidded with a stop. I looked towards the cave and saw that it had a festive look to it. It looked inviting so I jogged over there.

When I walked in I gasped. It was beautiful. A few candles here and there, on a boulder there was some food and hot chocolate, which was extremely expensive. What is going on?

Suddenly Finnick stepped out of the shadows and into my sights. He looked scruffy and had bags under eyes.

"Hey Annie." He said nonchalantly.

"Hey Finnick. Where have you been?" I asked straight to the point.

He chuckled. "Same old Annie as always. I can't really tell you where I've been."

"Why not? You have been gone all this time and you can't give me an answer!" I exclaimed.

"I swore to my dad I wouldn't. But I didn't ask you to come down here today so we could fight."

"Then what may I ask did you bring me down here for?" I was really getting angry and I think he could tell.

"To celebrate." He said simply.

"Celebrate what? There isn't anything to celebrate."

"Well we could celebrate many things. For example just the mere fact that we are alive." I scoffed at that knowing so many people would disagree with him. He ignored me and continued "us being friends or we could just celebrate Christmas." What the heck was he talking about?

"What the heck is Christmas, Finnick?"

"It was a holiday back when this was North America on exactly this day, December 25th. It was a time of giving and receiving gifts. It was the day that their Savior, some believed, was born. Or it was just a story for little kids. Santa Claus, or St. Nick, who was a fat guy that would go into people's homes and leave gifts for kids. "

"Is that all?" I asked bewildered.

"No, there's more I just don't want to spend all our time on this subject."

"Well how about a different subject like where you learned this information." I said while grabbing me a piece of bread to eat.

"I can't talk about that either. I'm sorry."

"Okay well what do you want to do now?"

He gestured to the food. "We could eat; we don't want it to go to waste."

While we were eating I felt his eyes on me. I looked up and saw I was right. "What's wrong?"

"I missed you a lot on our…" He had a hard time trying to find a word. "Business trip. So while we were gone I got you a gift, well actually I made it. I couldn't wait to give it to you and I thought it was a perfect idea to give it to you as a Christmas gift. So I had to wait." He reached in his pocket and pulled out something. It was a silver chain with a pearl on it. "Merry Christmas, Annie."

I raised my eyebrows a little but I didn't say anything. "Finnick, it's beautiful. But, you know we're not allowed to keep pearls from our district."

"I didn't get it from here." He told me secretly. "Please take it, you can hide it but I want you to take it. Please?"

I took it from his hand and held the pearl gently from my fingers. "Beautiful," I whispered.

"Yes, you are," Finnick said to me.

"Finnick," I said blushing madly, "Please, no flattery. You know how I feel about you."

He looked deflated. "I know but I was telling the truth. I got that pearl for a reason. I got it because I think you're pure and beautiful. Inside and out. No ifs, ands, or buts."

"Well…I…umm." Great, I was stuttering now.

"See you don't even disagree." Heat rose in my cheeks. He laughed when he noticed.

"I was trying to tell you that this gift is thoughtful, but I don't have anything to give you for this…Christmas."

"I could probably think of something." He said while scooting closer to me.

"Finnick…" I warned.

"Just a teensy little kiss, it won't mean anything. Just a kiss I swear. Please." He looked at me pleadingly. I tried to look away because I knew if I looked into those eyes I wouldn't be able to say no.

I looked at him and crossed my arms. "Fine." He pumped a fist into the air like a little kid. "But just this once and it won't mean anything." But that's what the problem was. It wouldn't mean just anything to me.

He leaned over to me. I could feel his hot breath on my face. He licked his lips and I saw his eyes travel to my lips. I did the same and whispered to him, "Merry Christmas." I crashed my lips on his.

The kiss was amazing. Our lips moved in sync and I could tell I was about to run out of breath. We broke away and looked at each other. We were both panting from being out of breath. When my breathing caught back up with me, I just looked into his eyes I didn't know what quite to say yet.

"That was…" Finnick it seemed didn't know either.

"Yeah…" I Just let it trail it was obvious both of us didn't know what to say. "Just remember what we agreed to before this."

"About that, Annie. Well, I think that we should-"

"No, Finnick. I don't want to start anything." I stopped him before he could start something that would end in pain.

"Okay Annie. Anything you want. But one day, I will earn your trust and you will see what I mean."

"Whatever. Good night Finnick, I got to go." He stood up with me.

"Good night Annie. I'll see you another day. I can't come back here till next term, so I hope you have a good time." He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "Good-bye, Annie".

I watched him run out of my sight, then I turned around and blew out the candles and left. This has been the weirdest day, and I had a feeling that it wasn't the end of it. When I got home the lights were already off. My mom had already fallen asleep and my dad was right beside her. When I closed the door he woke up.

"Annie…" He mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah it's me Dad. Sorry I'm home late, but me and Delaney were having problems with one of the math problems."

"Okay Annie, just don't do it again." I agreed and walked up to my room. I looked at my bed and immediately fatigue set in on me. I went to my bathroom to take a shower then switched into my Pjs. As soon as my head hit the pillow I passed out.

* * *

><p>When my vision came back, I was walking down a very dim hallway. I felt sick to my stomach and I didn't know why. I started to run to try to find someone, anyone. The lights started to get brighter and I started to slow down. When I came to my destination, I stopped. It was a hospital wing. When I walked in a woman saw me and recognized me. She had light blonde hair and blue colored eyes. She was small and tiny. Her face, that was once beautiful, had years of stress that worn down her beauty. She hurried over to me.<p>

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Odair," she said to me.

Did I hear her correctly? Did she just call me Mrs. Odair? Something was definitely wrong with this lady. Wait, think Annie. What happened in your last dream? You were at a wedding, and you were saying vows and Finnick was there and...

Oh. My. God. Did I seriously marry him? No, something is wrong with these dreams. Wait...I just ate something bad. Yeah, that's it I just ate something bad I told myself. I'll just play along with her to see what happens.

"Yes, Mrs.…Everdeen?" I looked at her name tag to get her name.

"We are going to move into this room right here, okay?" She said while ushering me into a room.

She handed me a hospital robe to put on. When I had it on she turned around. She got me to sit on a bed, a cold bed at that.

"I'll be right back; I just need to get a few things first."

I nodded my head and she went away. All of this was creeping me out and it didn't help when she brought in a monitor. She got me to lift the robe up to above my belly. I obeyed despite the strangeness. She put some cold gel on my belly and rubbed it around. She put a device on my stomach and moved it around.

"So, Annie, have you told Finnick yet?" She asked me curiously.

"Told him what?" I asked completely oblivious.

"About the baby, of course!" She said, laughing.

"Umm...no I haven't. Should I?" Oh crap. What is happening?

"Well I think you should. I think something big is about to happen. Katniss hardly talks to us anymore, and she is even ignoring Prim! And Plutarch keeps avoiding me. If he thinks he is going to do something with my baby without telling me, he has another thing coming." She was really getting fired up.

"Umm, not to be rude...but what does this has to do with a baby?" I asked truly confused.

"Well if it has anything to do with the war, you know that Finnick is going to get involved. You need to tell him about y'alls baby. Why are you waiting? You know he's going to be ecstatic."

Holy shit! This lady is trying to say I'm pregnant and with **Finnick's **kid. Now I know I ate something bad. Whatever, I'll still go with it. "Oh yeah about that…I was going to tell him tonight after this appointment." Why not have fun with it? "I'm even to going to have a little dinner ready; you know, make it all romantic."

"That's sweet. You and Finnick deserve everything. Especially with what he had to go through to keep his loved ones alive." I am really getting tired of this lady talking nonsense. I have to leave this place.

"I got to go," I said trying to get up.

"Wait, you haven't seen the picture yet! It's coming up now." Just as she said that a picture came up of a round tubby little creature.

"Is that…" I said, now breathless.

"Yes, that is your child." I tuned her out. I looked at the picture of the chubby kid that was mine. It was so hard to believe that this thing was in me.

"What is its gender?" I asked, quite abruptly.

"The gender? Well let's see here." She started to scrutinize the photo. "Oh, here we go." She pointed to a part on the body that definitely didn't belong to a female. She looked at me with a huge smile. "Congratulations, it's a boy!"

I got extremely happy, I didn't know why, but this little creature inside of me would change my life, I could already tell. This was going to be a very interesting ride to see what these dreams are trying to tell me.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note- Again please review I want at least 10 reviews for this chapter. When we get back from Wisconsin I will update as quick as I can. My birthday will be the 8<strong>**th**** of January though and that is also the day me and my boyfriend will be dating for 3 months, weird right? But anyway I got AP classes next semester so... It should be interesting for me. Wish me luck! I love all you guys and I wish all of y'all a Merry Christmas and a happy new years, since I won't update till after the new years.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I am so sorry. I did not know it was going to take this long to update. My classes are actually really hard and I have not had any challenging classes any of my high school life so this is different. So please don't be mad I tried to type whenever I wasn't doing work and this chapter was hard to type. One more thing hopefully soon I will be uploading a new story soon that I am working on with a great friend of mine**,** Marie ( from Lindsey and Marie Enterprises), please read it it's going to be really interesting. And let me run this idea by you my APUSH ( Ap U.S history) class is going to do a t-shirt and we have this idea to use ****Snorg Tees**** idea, but make it our own. It's a cheat sheet and printed upside down to where you can see it perfectly and put a bow tie on top( you have to know the teacher to understand the bow time=) )He loves it and wants one no matter if we get it approved or not. What do y'all think? **

**A True Pearl**

Disclaimer-I do not own the Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does.

**Thank You to Marie for beta-ing.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favored/alerted me and my story. I wish everybody would review; they make me want to type faster. The people who do review thank you so much =)**

**cookieb123- She is seeing visions it will make sense later. Thanks! =)**

**all I need 22- Thanks!**

**me-Thanks for the birthday wish and for reviewing!**

**hungergamestribute67-** **Thanks for the birthday wish and for reviewing!**

**gabysherilovespeeta-Okay you just made me sound really bad haha. I needed a teacher's name and everyone used Mr. Wilson so I wanted to use Pater's. I love that man =P! But dear lord is that class hard at least he wants to celebrate Mardi Gras. We have already decorated Mufassa. **

**Ch.4 ENJOY!**

I awoke with a blinding light hitting me. I looked up to see my dad opening the blinds. Uugghhh... I plopped my head back down on the pillow and pulled the blanket over my eyes. he tugged the blanket off of me trying to make me get out of bed.

"C'mon Annie, time to get up."

I groaned in response and flipped over on my side.

"I'll go get the water bucket if you don't get up."

I went wide-eyed. I knew my dad wasn't joking around. I have already been on the end of one those buckets before.

"No, no, I'm up. I'm up. No need for the water bucket."

My dad smirked at me and then left the room letting me get ready for the day. I got up and stretched. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my slippers in the corner of my room. I rushed to get them to get off this cold floor. When I passed by mirror I stopped. I looked at my neck and saw the necklace was still there. So it did happen. But the dream, I have no idea what that was about. Because believe it, or not I think I would remember getting pregnant.

All of a sudden I heard my clock chime. It was less than an hour and I haven't even began to get ready. I was in a panic.

I started to rush to get ready. After I had my clothes picked out I went to brush my teeth, all the while thinking how happy I was that I took a shower yesterday. After I was done I looked at my clocked and I saw that I had about 15 minutes to get to school. I rushed out the doors saying my goodbyes in the wind.

On my run to school I saw the fisherman getting their things ready for the new season. It was starting to warm up as winter was heading out and Spring was coming in. It's usually a big day where all the boats sail off and we have a little celebration here, to celebrate the fact that we got out of the hard time. Something else also is close to this time, but no one likes to talk about it. The Hunger Games. Even though our district is one of the ones that is most likely to win, just the thought of losing one or two of our friends is heartbreaking, so nobody says anything.

I got to school a few minutes before the bell, so I decided to walk around the school and find my new classrooms since we had new schedule for the new semester. As soon as the bell rang I went to my first block. When I walked in I saw Delaney and Mya immediately. I chose my seat in front of them and asked where Harper was.

"She got switched out of the class for something else is what I hear. She wouldn't tell me anything more though," Delaney told me.

The day went by eventless. It was extremely slow and we didn't even see Harper at lunch. I looked over at Finnick's table to see him making hand gestures, like he was telling a story. He had the whole table laughing.

I sighed _'Looks like some things will never change.' _

On our way out of school we say Harper sitting down on one of the benches. We walked over there, but she didn't notice us till we were at her feet.

"Hey Harper." We tried to get her attention, but all she did was look up, meet our eyes, then look right back down.

"What has been going on Harper? We haven't seen you around any." I asked her.

"It's nothing personal. It's just that well... a lot has been going on at home. That's why I had to drop my first block and other stuff. I'm sorry," Harper explained.

"It's okay," we said together. I sat down by Harper to talk to her. "Why didn't you just tell us first?"

"It wasn't-and still isn't-something I like to talk about." She said barely above a whisper.

"Okay, well you know if you need anything we're here." Mya told Harper.

She nodded her head and stood up. She walked a few feet and turned around and gave us a sad smile, then turned and left us alone.

I heaved a sigh and looked up to Delaney and Mya. We had a silent conversation and agreed to walk home separately. I watched as both of them left. I stood up and started on my way home. When I got home I stopped in front of our fence. I wasn't ready to go in yet, because I know once I go in my dad would put me right to work.

I looked towards the beach and saw how inviting it looked. The temperature was just right. It had a nice chill to it and there was a slight breeze going through. The sun was going down and it gave the perfect sight. The time of day was just right to where the water would only nip at my feet. On my walk there I was wondering if Finnick was going to be there. '_Probably not out there,'_ I thought, _It's late, and he said that he would be too busy to come for a little bit_. So I took my chance and went.

When I got there I took off my shoes and dug my toes in the sand. There is nothing better than that feeling. I stood there for a little bit with my eyes closed. I was soon startled when I felt the chilly water touch my feet. As the wind wrapped around me like a cocoon, I let my hair cascade down around me. I was alone, just me and the solitude of myself.

All of a sudden I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I didn't turn around the person put their arms around my waste and I felt their hot breathe on my ear. I was about to turn around and punch them in the nose. When I lifted my arm the person chuckled. I knew that chuckle, it was a very familiar and distinct chuckle. I would know it anywhere.

"You planning on hurting me Annie?" Finnick was now full out laughing now.

"No, of course not. You just startled me, that's all."

"Uh huh, yeah right Annie. We all know your secret. We know that deep down inside you, you are dying to get a chance to kill me aren't you?" He smirked at me.

"Oh no!" I mocked gasped. "You found out my dirty little secret Fin," I laughed.

He turned me around so I could look him straight in the eyes.

"So, what are you going to do with me now?" His eyes darkened and he waggled his eyebrows.

"Finnick!" I blushed and swatted his shoulder.

He grabbed his sides and laughed, "I'm sorry, but you should have seen your face," he said while laughing.

"Well if you weren't so dirty minded," I crossed my arms in mock annoyance.

"You're the one that said it not me." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"So what are you doing out here?" I asked him.

"I could ask you the same thing." He raised his eyebrows and looked me straight in the eyes.

"I just came out here to relax. It's been a really long day and this seemed too good of an opportunity to pass up. There is usually a lot of people here when I want to come." He nodded his head.

"So, why are you here?" I asked him again.

"Well, umm... well I..." Heat flooded his cheeks.

"I'm waiting." I started to tap my foot.

"I was headed to the docks to work on the boat and I saw you were walking alone." he took a deep breath. "I just wanted to make sure you got home safe, since it's night time." He stumbled over the last bit.

"Well I got home fine, thanks. So, why didn't you turn around when I got home?"

He shrugged. "I figured we could just talk, we never get to talk at school."

I blew the hair out of my face. "Sorry, but you know how I feel about us being friends right now-well, publically. I still want it to be private."

He shook his head understanding what I meant. "Why do you care though?"

"I don't like the attention, I've told you that before. It would bring a lot of unwanted attention to me," I explained to him.

He stood there for a little with his lips pursed. He then sat down on the beach letting the waves nip at his feet.

"You said that you came here to relax, to get away from school problems. What's wrong?"

I sat right beside him and put my head on his shoulder.

"Well Harper acted really strange today. She hasn't told us anything. What do you think is wrong with her?

"I really can't be sure. I do know that some of the families that rely on fishing have been dropped. Those families are going to have to find a new way to live."

I gave him a stern look. "And how do you know this?" I asked raising my voice a little bit.

He ignored it. He looked at me with one of his eyebrows raised and his lips in a half quirk. "I make it my business to know everyone's business." He leaned in closer and whispered in my ear. "Do you have any secrets, Annie Cresta?"

I blushed, "No, and if I did, I wouldn't tell you." I scratched the back of my neck in a nervous gesture.

He pulled back and gave me a quizzical look.

I sighed. "Finnick, there isn't much about me that people don't already know." I shrugged, "I don't have any secrets."

"Everyone has secrets." He simply replied. I was about to reply to that but he still continued, "It doesn't matter if you have one now or later, but everyone at some point has some secret."

With that it ended out conversation. For a few minutes we just sat there enjoying each other's presence. I laid my head on his shoulder to relax for some time. I closed my eyes listening to the sounds around me.

Soon I felt Finnick's fingers nudging me awake.

"What's wrong, Fin?" I asked sleepily.

"I hear some voices coming our way. And it sounds like Peacekeepers. Annie, you know we are not suppose to be out this late."

I jolted awake. I have heard what Peacekeepers do to those who violate the rules. "What are we going to do Fin?" I asked, frightened.

He put his fingers on my lips, shushing me. He looked at me stern in the eyes, "Follow me, and don't make a noise till I say it's safe, okay?" I nodded my head in response.

We quickly and swiftly ran down the beach and out of sight.

After about a minute or so we walked up a sand hill, thinking that we got them off our trail. We walked through the allies and stopped at a halfway point between our homes.

We turned towards each other and said our goodbyes. We started to run in the opposite directions ready to head home.

"ANNIE!" I turned around and saw Finnick running to me.

I stopped and waited for him, out of breath. "Yeah?" I asked panting.

His breathing was rough and he looked a little frantic. He searched my face as if looking for something. "I won't be able to come tomorrow, Annie."

I nodded my head then looked down. I was upset, I really enjoyed our times together. I won't tell him that. He grabbed my chin gently and made me look in the eyes. He leaned his head down and captured my lips. We broke apart trying to catch our breaths. He kissed me on the forehead. "Goodnight, Annie," he whispered, then went back in his direction.

I stood there for a little bit, touching my lips trying to understand what just happened. I never planned for any of this to happen. I then heard shouting coming from an ally not too far from here. I didn't waste any more time, I ran as fast as I could to my house.

When I got home all the lights were off. So, I went in through the back and the porch light was on. _'Thank you.'_ Once I got in nobody was awake all I heard was snoring. Another great thing, I wasn't in the mood for explaining right now.

I quietly crept up the stairs. I winced every time I heard each step creak. I would stop and listen to make sure I could still hear them snoring to make sure I didn't wake them up. I got scared when I heard my dad's snoring stop. I stopped in my tracks, scared I would be caught. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding when he started snoring again. I crept by their room when I finally got up the stairs and a silent smile lit my face. My mom was getting better with each day. Her and my dad were sleeping together again. It was a winter miracle.

I got to my room and plopped on my bed and laid down for just a second. I still couldn't believe what happened today. Maybe I should stop being so uptight with Finnick and let us be friends in public. But, with how he is acting I think that's not all he wants.

_'Grr...'_ My life was not complicated at all before he came back into it. It was actually quite simple: live. Nothing more, nothing less.

_'Oh how would he love this. Me beating myself up about this.' _I laughed silently to myself.

I made myself to get back up to get a shower. I was dirty from head to toe and there was no getting around that one. I got in the shower and turned the heat all the way on. I immersed in it, letting the steam wrap around me in a comforting cocoon. When I was done I got out and turned the small fan on and opened the window a little to let the steam out, so I could see. I got a rag and wiped a small portion of the mirror so I could see myself. I took a deep breath and looked at myself. There was no physical change, no that much you could see. But what did change was the person on the inside. It was a much deeper change. I was beginning to accept myself more. I small smile crept onto my face. It seems that things were getting better for me. My mom was still sick, but she is now able to walk around on her own. We don't have to watch her every second now at least. I was more focused, which made my friends happier because they thought they were losing me and-whether I liked it or not-I could thank Finnick for it. I'm not sure about the part about my mom, but it just seems like ever since he came around my problems haven't been as bad.

Then I thought about Harper. Harper...if what Finnick says is true, I can't imagine what she is going through, her family relies on fishing. Things must be getting bad here and they are trying to cover it up. I'll have to ask Finnick about that.

I finished drying up and left to put on my Pjs. I walked over to my dresses and took over my jewelry. I cradled the necklace that Finnick got me and studied it. It was so beautiful and special and just for me. A huge smile lit my face. I carefully laid it down and walked over to my bed and went to sleep and for the first time in a long time I didn't have a dream.

**Ha, I bet y'all didn't see that coming! I know, me not putting in a dream is weird. I will try not to wait as long to post the next chapter, it should come easier. The next chapter will be longer too. Just remember to look for Destiny and Decisions , coming your way soon. **

**PLEASE REVIEW, I want to have at least 20 reviews. That isn't too hard now is it? I didn't get as much as I wanted to have last time and it took forever to update. Hmm... So please update, it helps to motivate me! =)**


	5. Author's Note! cont or start over?

**Sorry guys, but this is only an author's note. I'm getting the next chapter ready for ya'll though! **

Okay guys! I really need your opinions. I am getting back to writing, and I would very much appreciate everyone's opinion in which direction I should take. It's been about 2 years or so. My writing has very much improved =) Should I start from where I left off or start from scratch?


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